Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: How much to pay piano man?

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Nyria
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Topic: How much to pay piano man?
Posted: 9/29/05 at 3:50pm

I'm am trying to figure out how much to pay someone.

We are doing a version of 'Alice in Wonderland'.

We don't have an orchestra or even an accompaniest - we do however have someone who can play all the music and record it for us.

This is the music teacher in the school but he's not really involved in the play and he doesn't have time to play for every show. There are 20 songs and he is very good.

How much should we pay him? I want to be fair - but also we are a public school and we don't have oodles of money.

Any thoughts - I don't even know where to start.

Thanks -- Airyn

NYRIA

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Topper
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Posted: 9/30/05 at 1:44am

First ask him how long (how many hours) he thinks it
would take him to record all the music. (If he's very
fast, let's say he can record one song in ten minutes.
Twenty songs equals 200 minutes, or roughly 3
hours, 20 minutes -- heck, call it 3-1/2 hrs.)

Then ask what he would typically charge (per hour)
for a private lesson. (Let's say he charges $50.00 an
hour -- at 3-1/2 hrs that comes to about $175.00)

Then ask him if he considers this a fair price for his
efforts. Negotiate from there.

Since you do not intend to sell copies of the music
and are using it strictly for this project, I don't see
what's wrong about simply paying him for the hours
he's invested.

Be sure to give him credit him in the program,
perhaps a special mention, and set aside a few
tickets as a good will gesture.

Hope this helps.

"None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone

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Spectrum
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Posted: 9/30/05 at 2:45am

I know this is going to be a clear indication of how old I am, but good grief, doesn't ANYBODY do anything to "support the arts" or even "support the school and students" anymore? Does everybody have to be paid or bribed just to "give a fig?" If the pianist is also the music teacher, why wouldn't he be happy to support the students in a musical venue by contributing his talents gratis in the name of school spirit and education?

I have helped the local middle school with their annual musical for the past 10 years by designing and building sets, creating special effects, and designing and setting the lighting. I have no children in school; I do it to support the arts and the students. Over the years I have observed the school staff doing all they could to insure success with the musical by painting scenery, moving set pieces, wrangling kids in the chorus, etc., but as younger teachers have replaced retiring ones the prevailing attitude is one of "If I'm not getting paid to do it, I'm not interested." So much for school spirit and adult responsibility. Just for grins and since your production's needs will only take a few hours of his time, approach the music teacher with the notion he could really help with the show by recording the music. You'll be ever so grateful and you'll be sure he gets special mention in the program. Give him the opportunity to contribute and actually be a teacher. If he refuses then I feel sorry for his students.

Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional.

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dboris
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Posted: 9/30/05 at 12:40pm

When it comes having to pay for someone, I think it all comes down to what you have to do to get a person with the level of skill that you need.

In my area, we almost always have to pay musicians because it's the only way to get ones that are talented enough to do a good job. A lot of these musicians can spend thier Friday and Saturday getting paid to play with a band in a bar, or even playing for another theater production, so it's hard to get them to do it for free. We have run into the same problem with musical directors.

As the pool of talented people for a specific job gets smaller (or the number of oportunities increases), it becomes necessary to entice them with money, and once a few groups start doing this, all the other groups in the area have to do it also or they aren't going to get the good people.

Dan

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tristanrobin
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Joined: 4/25/05
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Posted: 9/30/05 at 1:27pm

I think community theatres have to pay whatever the going rate
is in their area for every position...there is really no other
choice.

But, I have to agree with Spectrum about school teachers. I
don't know why a school teacher would need to be paid to help
school students on a school project on school property.
Especially for something like recording tracks that can be done
anytime (including during their free periods in school hours),
and the teacher doesn't even have to commit to weekend
evenings for peformances.

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Shatcher
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Joined: 2/21/05
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Posted: 9/30/05 at 4:18pm

I must say I agree that the music teacher at the school should help out for free, after all high school theatre is really about the students learning and being creative, not about making money. If however he won't do it for free, then I would ask him about the hours and keep him to that amount of time. You don't want to plan to pay for 4 hours work then get a bill for 40 hours. Or you could offer him an flat fee of whatever you think is right, tell him that is all the money you have in the budget for the music.

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Nyria
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Location: Canada
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Posted: 10/03/05 at 4:28pm

Thanks for the ideas - and the support for school arts

I should mention though that he never asked for money - but I asked him if he knew anyone who could do this and then I would pay them. He said he could do it so I just automatically said OK - we'll pay you then.

Around here it's really hard to find accompaniests and the ones I do find cost LOTS so at least I don't have to pay that.

Thanks =) Airyn

NYRIA

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Author	Message
Nyria Celebrity Joined: 1/20/05 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 157	Topic: How much to pay piano man? Posted: 9/29/05 at 3:50pm
	I'm am trying to figure out how much to pay someone. We are doing a version of 'Alice in Wonderland'. We don't have an orchestra or even an accompaniest - we do however have someone who can play all the music and record it for us. This is the music teacher in the school but he's not really involved in the play and he doesn't have time to play for every show. There are 20 songs and he is very good. How much should we pay him? I want to be fair - but also we are a public school and we don't have oodles of money. Any thoughts - I don't even know where to start. Thanks -- Airyn
	NYRIA

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Topper Celebrity Joined: 1/27/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 543	Posted: 9/30/05 at 1:44am
	First ask him how long (how many hours) he thinks it would take him to record all the music. (If he's very fast, let's say he can record one song in ten minutes. Twenty songs equals 200 minutes, or roughly 3 hours, 20 minutes -- heck, call it 3-1/2 hrs.) Then ask what he would typically charge (per hour) for a private lesson. (Let's say he charges $50.00 an hour -- at 3-1/2 hrs that comes to about $175.00) Then ask him if he considers this a fair price for his efforts. Negotiate from there. Since you do not intend to sell copies of the music and are using it strictly for this project, I don't see what's wrong about simply paying him for the hours he's invested. Be sure to give him credit him in the program, perhaps a special mention, and set aside a few tickets as a good will gesture. Hope this helps.
	"None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone
	IP Logged

Spectrum Celebrity Joined: 4/16/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 176	Posted: 9/30/05 at 2:45am
	I know this is going to be a clear indication of how old I am, but good grief, doesn't ANYBODY do anything to "support the arts" or even "support the school and students" anymore? Does everybody have to be paid or bribed just to "give a fig?" If the pianist is also the music teacher, why wouldn't he be happy to support the students in a musical venue by contributing his talents gratis in the name of school spirit and education? I have helped the local middle school with their annual musical for the past 10 years by designing and building sets, creating special effects, and designing and setting the lighting. I have no children in school; I do it to support the arts and the students. Over the years I have observed the school staff doing all they could to insure success with the musical by painting scenery, moving set pieces, wrangling kids in the chorus, etc., but as younger teachers have replaced retiring ones the prevailing attitude is one of "If I'm not getting paid to do it, I'm not interested." So much for school spirit and adult responsibility. Just for grins and since your production's needs will only take a few hours of his time, approach the music teacher with the notion he could really help with the show by recording the music. You'll be ever so grateful and you'll be sure he gets special mention in the program. Give him the opportunity to contribute and actually be a teacher. If he refuses then I feel sorry for his students.
	Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional.
	IP Logged

dboris Celebrity Joined: 2/10/04 Online Status: Offline Posts: 124	Posted: 9/30/05 at 12:40pm
	When it comes having to pay for someone, I think it all comes down to what you have to do to get a person with the level of skill that you need. In my area, we almost always have to pay musicians because it's the only way to get ones that are talented enough to do a good job. A lot of these musicians can spend thier Friday and Saturday getting paid to play with a band in a bar, or even playing for another theater production, so it's hard to get them to do it for free. We have run into the same problem with musical directors. As the pool of talented people for a specific job gets smaller (or the number of oportunities increases), it becomes necessary to entice them with money, and once a few groups start doing this, all the other groups in the area have to do it also or they aren't going to get the good people. Dan
	IP Logged

tristanrobin Celebrity Joined: 4/25/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 704	Posted: 9/30/05 at 1:27pm
	I think community theatres have to pay whatever the going rate is in their area for every position...there is really no other choice. But, I have to agree with Spectrum about school teachers. I don't know why a school teacher would need to be paid to help school students on a school project on school property. Especially for something like recording tracks that can be done anytime (including during their free periods in school hours), and the teacher doesn't even have to commit to weekend evenings for peformances.
	IP Logged

Shatcher Celebrity Joined: 2/21/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 251	Posted: 9/30/05 at 4:18pm
	I must say I agree that the music teacher at the school should help out for free, after all high school theatre is really about the students learning and being creative, not about making money. If however he won't do it for free, then I would ask him about the hours and keep him to that amount of time. You don't want to plan to pay for 4 hours work then get a bill for 40 hours. Or you could offer him an flat fee of whatever you think is right, tell him that is all the money you have in the budget for the music.
	IP Logged

Nyria Celebrity Joined: 1/20/05 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 157	Posted: 10/03/05 at 4:28pm
	Thanks for the ideas - and the support for school arts I should mention though that he never asked for money - but I asked him if he knew anyone who could do this and then I would pay them. He said he could do it so I just automatically said OK - we'll pay you then. Around here it's really hard to find accompaniests and the ones I do find cost LOTS so at least I don't have to pay that. Thanks =) Airyn
	NYRIA
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Topic: How much to pay piano man?( Topic Closed)